christine

Pazzles Craft Room = Community

As I sat in church Sunday morning, I felt deeply grateful for all the people there. I was reminded of all the different communities I belong to. My thesaurus uses words like neighborhood, kinship, unity, identity, and cooperation to describe the word. My family, of course, is my primary community but there are many others I belong to. My small town of Kuna where we have lived for over 30 years is a community. The people I worship with constitute another community I belong to. We have a common belief and have a bond that has developed from that. (There are a lot of relatives there too!) The Pazzles office is a very important community in my life. The people there are like family to me.

I don’t want to go ...

I am venturing a bit outside of the usual Tricky Tuesday theme today but I think I will get your creative juices going nonetheless. I have been at the craft industry’s premier trade show, CHA in Anaheim, California. This is where all of the different companies debut their new products for Spring. All the big companies are here and there are buyers (in suits, of course) from Michael’s, Joannes, Hobby Lobby, QVC and HSN walking the floor to find great, new products. Usually I am busy working in our Pazzles’ booth but this year I got to walk the floor. I have been on the lookout for new products that would work with our cutter and seeing what trends there are in the industry. I could have waited until next week’s Breakfast Topic but I just can’t seem to keep this stuff to myself for that long!

Make it a Better Fit

How often do we think that about so many things in our lives? Why can’t they make these jeans a better fit? Why is it that these sheets aren’t just a little longer? I like that color but I think it would be a better fit if it were just a little darker/lighter. The title looks nice but it would fit better on the page if it was curved instead of straight. I think we all have had times in our creative process where we wish the word or title had more character. We want it to curve up or down, we want it to fit on top of the heart, we wish we could put the word inside of the butterfly. You all know what I mean!

What’s In Your Bag?

Moms of little ones always have their diaper bag filled with necessary items and a few favorite tricks. Diapers, wipes, bottles and a change of clothes are necessary. A favorite toy, a set of noisy keys, a music box or a special blankie are life saving tricks. Traveling on a plane with kids requires a bag of tricks to keep them amused on the way. Recently, on a trip with two 6 year olds, I packed fruit snacks, crayons, sketch books, card games, books, electronic games and when all else fails- assorted Jelly Bellies. You would be amazed how long they can spend sorting out the colors and guessing the flavors! We even drew and colored each flavor on paper. I also have a bag of tricks for my Inspiration and Pro machines. Of course, there are the necessary items such as extra mats, blades and the Chizzle scraper that I always keep on hand. In addition, there are the other items that come from my Pazzles bag of tricks. Even when I travel with my cutter, I take them along with me.

Vinyl Makes It Special!

I have had a secret for the past week. By the time this blog appears in the Pazzles Craft Room I hope everyone here at the office is enjoying my gift. I am giving one of those coffee makers that use individual pods to make one cup of coffee at a time. Now the tea drinkers, the hot cocoa lovers and the flavored coffee aficionados can all choose what they want. No more expensive trips to Moxie Java for Jeremy and Pete! But, hey, what is an office without the required coffee mugs with your name on them? So I also bought some stacking coffee mugs to go with it and I added everyone’s name in vinyl. It was so fast and easy to do but makes the gift a lot more fun. (I forgot one for myself, though!)

Need a Last Minute Gift ...

It never fails. No matter how hard I try and how many lists I make, I always end up needing a last minute gift or two. Fortunately, I have the tools to make great gifts right here in my home. I have my computer and printer and I have plenty of paper to choose from due to my paper addiction. Plus, I have the ultimate crafting tool: my cutter. One of the most appreciated gifts is a nice photo in a frame. If that photo and frame has a customized mat, the gift becomes one to treasure. Throughout the year, I try to keep my eye out for sales on frames. I like to to keep a few on hand so I don’t have to go shopping for one at the last minute. Making a customized mat is not difficult and you can have a great gift in less than an hour.

Make Your Own Gift Boxes

Make Your Own Gift Boxes ...

Every Christmas for the last several years, my daughters and I make Stroopwafels as presents for friends and family. These tasty Dutch goodies are usually packaged up in little plastic gift bags. This year I thought it would be fun to make special little boxes to put them in. I have often wished that I was a better “paper engineer” but alas, I am not. I am, however, a person obsessed. I cannot look at anything without wondering if it can be cut on my cutter or translated into a new design. Christmas is the perfect time of year to find all kinds of fun shaped packages. A walk through any store will usually result in finding at least one or two gift box ideas. Often the boxes hold candy. After you finish eating the contents you can dismantle the box and use it for a pattern.

Christmas Cutting Frenzy

Are you feeling sleep deprived these days? Odds are that many of you are doing major cutting projects this time of year. These projects are probably keeping some of you up very late at night. Whether you are cutting Christmas cards and tags, doing a Swap, making kid’s projects or putting together class kits, you are in the midst of a cutting frenzy. Some of you are old hands at this type of cutting but for the vast majority of us cutting 50 – 100 of something is a very daunting task.

Christmas Indulgence

I have to admit that Christmas is my favorite holiday. I know, I know, it is a really busy time. There are presents to buy (or make) and then they also need wrapped. There are cards to write and send. The house needs decorating, the tree needs set up and the ornaments hung. Then there are all of the extra activities surrounding the holiday. I have a pre-kindergarten program, a first grade program, a Sunday School program, extra choir rehearsals for church, a ministry dinner and a company dinner to attend. All of that “busy-ness” can make me lose sight of what the season is all about.

Putting the Pieces Together

Scrapbooking has gone through many trends in the last 10 years. Die cuts, stickers, chalking and decorative scissors have all had a spot in the limelight. Many of them have recently been rediscovered and have become popular once more. Similarly, paper piecing is now once again a popular technique. I think that its rise in popularity is directly related to the advent of the personal electronic cutter. I know that some of you cannot even think of paper piecing without getting heart palpitations. It seems, at least at first glance, that scrapbookers and card makers fall into two camps when it comes to paper piecing. You either love it or avoid it like the plague. And yet, if you really think about it, we all do paper piecing.

Engraving Tool Discoveries

I just finished creating a new tutorial video on the Engraving Tool. I will admit that when I was asked to show examples of different materials that can be engraved I was not too excited. It is the holidays after all and I have plenty of projects to do already. However, despite my grumblings, I found that I had embarked on a journey of discovery. I could not believe the different materials that I found to engrave on. Initially, I think most of us would agree that the first materials that come to mind are metal and glass. But did you know that you can also engrave on plastics, acrylics, wood and paper?

Color My World

Are you an "8 crayon box" person or do you need the mega box with 128 colors? I am definitely a "128 crayon box" person and believe me I will use every single one! Whether you work with only a few colors or the whole rainbow, eventually you will need to use the color palette tools to design your project When you first use your Inspiration software you probably find the color palette window just a little bit annoying. It might seem like it is always in the way and wonder why it needs to be front and center all of the time. Then comes the day when you have an epiphany and realize that this box is the portal to a world of color magic.

What is that thingy you ...

Have you had trouble getting your friends and family to understand what exactly electronic cutting is? Do they kind of look at you blankly when you get excited about it? I know mine do and it is so frustrating. The men will ask my husband, “So are you and your wife still doing that CRAFT thing?” and you get the feeling they are thinking potholders or macramé. The women will try to compare it to a printer or worse yet, (ugh!!) .....STICKERS!!

Gadgets, Gadgets, Everywhere!

Recently, Tatum wrote about the Inspiration to Go software that allows you to create and save projects without being connected to the Inspiration cutter. My husband and I travel by car quite a bit and I have developed an affinity for gadgets that allow my creative juices to flow even while on the road. The Inspiration to Go software is the pivot point for all my other ‘geeky’ devices. Allow me to give you some tips on how to get the most out of your Inspiration to Go software while traveling.

Score one for ME!

Have you ever had one of those light bulb moments where you ask yourself, “Why have I never tried that before”? I was creating a gift for my brother in law the other day and had one of those bright ideas pop into my head. OK, at least I thought it was a bright idea and worth sharing with you. I was designing a photo mat for 5 photos and my hubby wanted me to add some text below them. It amounted to a lot of words and numbers in 2 lines and I was trying to figure out how I would line all those words up, perfectly centered and spaced.

Why did Tech Support ask ...

Ok, Rule #1.( At least for today.) There are no stupid questions! How do I know this? Because I make some of the BIGGEST and DUMBEST mistakes! A few weeks ago I was trying, at the last minute of course, to get a project done using my Inspiration.

Overlays Made Easy!

This week I created an Overlay tutorial. Overlays make creating a great looking scrapbook page really quick and usually there is no cropping of photos involved. The three project based lessons have something for everyone, whether you are a beginner or more advanced. Learn how to center text, size squares and ovals, precisely center objects to each other and to the page, plus much, much more.

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